Category: Ancient Mystical Writings

Bits and pieces of various scriptures relevant to Shaktipat Kundalini Yoga (SKY) Surrender Meditation.

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The Embodied One and The Being – Bhagavad Gita – Chapter 2: 10-13

On By Durga MaIn Ancient Mystical Writings, Bhagavad Gita4 Comments

The Yoga of Knowledge 

Last week we witnessed Arjuna resisting going into battle and stating his reasons for this, then doing a turn-about, and then asking Krishna what to do “for certain”. Then in one final blow, Arjuna refuses to take Krishna’s instruction, saying “I shall not fight”. Let’s see how Krishna responds to this:

10
At this, Krishna began to laugh, O Descendant of Bharata, as they stood there between the two armies, and to the dejected Arjuna, he spoke these words…

Well good! A little humor in trying times is good medicine.

‘Descendant of Bharata’ refers here to the blind king, Dhritarashthra, to whom his minister Samjaya is speaking as we listen in. ‘Bharata’ refers to Dhritarashtra as a descendent of an early emperor by that name. Bharata means ‘continuously acquiring knowledge’ and is the true name of India, the spiritual center of Earth, where people have endlessly continued to engage in acquiring knowledge of Truth over millennia.

Self-reference:  At this point in the story, that place within you where there is continual acquisition of knowledge is currently under the rule of blind authority governed by ignorance of Truth. But Krishna is about to enlighten us:

The Embodied One and the Being

11
Krishna spoke: You have mourned that which should not be mourned, and yet you speak as if with words of wisdom. Neither for the living nor for the dead do the wise morn.

12
There was never a time when I was not, when you were not, or when these lords of men were not. And there will never be a time when we shall cease to be. All of us exist from this time forward.

13
Just as childhood, adulthood and old age happen to the body of the embodied one, so shall the embodied one acquire another body. In this matter, the wise are not deluded.

This teaching, as with all of Lord Krishna’s teachings, can be understood on more than one level. On the face of it, Krishna is telling us not to concern ourselves with life and death, because life and death doesn’t pertain to the Real You, ‘the embodied one’, and the body you are using will be replaced anyway. These verses are worth contemplating for this alone. But we must also remember who is speaking to whom in this story, and the subject of their conversation.

Arjuna has been mourning the deaths of all his relatives before the battle has even begun, and his guru, Lord Krishna, has responded. But who are Arjuna’s relatives who will be killed in this battle, and whose loss “need not be mourned”? Arjuna’s relatives are the warriors of his own armies as well as those of the enemy. He is literally related to all of them.

Self-reference: “These lords of men”, the warriors of both sides, some of whom are rulers of their only principalities, are your relatives. At this point in your sadhana, the reinstatement of your rightful place as ‘ruler’ of your own entire kingdom is being disputed, and your relatives have taken sides. (By going back to the earlier verses in chapter one up to verse 20, you will discover some of the more prominent ‘lords’.) War or no war, they aren’t going anywhere, for they “exist from this time forward”. These relatives are the genetic material in your own body. They will continue to be, but they are going to change, become transformed. What they are cannot die but will receive new ‘bodies’.

We must also remember what will happen with the activation and ascension of the evolutionary force (kundalini), for this is exactly what is about to happen. This is the Mahabharata war, the ‘battle’, the crashing together of opposing forces. It is Hatha Yoga, the union (yoga) of the sun (ha) and moon (tha) energies in your body, which is the awakening, the quickening, of the evolutionary force within the body.

Now we understand something about Kundaini that is not common knowledge. Like Arjuna, we are going to come to realize that Kundalini is not some mystical “experience”, or some sensation we feel, or a vision we have had. It is a genuine and very real force that has only one objective: evolution. Yours. And it is not interested in whether you like it or not. It is going to win whether you think you are allowing it to win or not—it is a force of nature, and it is Divine. You can go along with it or you can resist it, but it will ultimately win. The only question is, if it is going to win anyway, why do you have to get with the program? You don’t. But since it is going to do what it is going to do anyway, why wouldn’t you? Resisting it only puts things off and causes despair, as chapter one has demonstrated (“Arjuna’s Depression”).

So how does one not resist this, when it seems like we are about to find ourselves in the midst of a ‘war’, and what would be the outcome? The following verses and the remaining chapters will clarify all of this.

Namaste,
Durga Ma

TERMS OF USE AND SHARING:

This post and text is original research material and is copyrighted. You are allowed to share this material for personal, non-commercial and educational use with the proper citations, references and links / tags back to my website. Clicking ´Share´ on FB or ´Reblog´ on WordPress would be most appropriate.Please obtain written permission from Anandi first if you want to use this material on your workshop, blog, organization, webpage, book, seminar or for any commercial purpose. All information provided, be it through sessions conducted or this post is non-liable and is not intended to replace professional legal, medical, psychological, psychiatric and/or financial counsel. How you choose to act on this information is up to your own free will and is entirely your responsibility.

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Resistance to Change -Bhagavad Gita – Chapter 2: 1-9

On By Durga MaIn Ancient Mystical Writings, Bhagavad Gita5 Comments

The Yoga of Knowledge 

Arjuna has reached a crisis point and appears to have given up. We are about to witness what the culmination of this will be and what happens next. What will Arjuna do? and what will his guru, Lord Krishna, have to say about it? …

1
Sanjaya spoke:
Seeing Arjuna depressed and overcome with sorrow, his eyes filled with tears and downcast, Lord Krishna spoke these words: 

We listen in as Samjaya relates events to the blind king, Dhritarashthra, using his power of divine sight.

2
Lord Krishna spoke:
Where is this faint-heartedness of yours coming from in this time of danger? It is dishonorable and unacceptable, and does not lead to heaven but to disgrace, Arjuna.

The word for ‘heaven’ refers to that celestial ‘world of light’ where we go between incarnations to await the next earthly body. Apparently, backing down will not get us there, but will engender criticism. 

3
Do not become a coward, it does not suit you. Abandon this cowardliness and stand up, Scorcher of the Foe!”

Scorcher of the Foe is an epitaph of Arjuna. By using it here, Krishna is reminding Arjuna of his purpose as a warrior.

4
Arjuna spoke:
O Slayer of Madhu, how can I kill Bhishma and Drona in battle? How can I fight with arrows against these two revered men, O Slayer of the Foe?

Slayer of Madhu and Slayer the Foe, are epitaphs of Krishna. Arjuna is coming back at Krishna by reminding Him that it was He who put down the enemy of ‘delight’ (Madhu), and yet has urged Arjuna to kill the sons of Dhritarashthra (desires)!

Bhishma* (continence and fidelity) and Drona (intellect and reason) are both highly venerated teachers whom Arjuna has always respected, yet they are fighting on the side of his enemy.

* Bhishma – ‘Terrible’. Fixity, the unwillingness to change.

5
I would rather live in this world as a beggar than slay these gurus out of desire for worldly gain. Anything we might enjoy would be smeared with blood.

Living as a beggar would be demeaning to a warrior.

Arjuna presses his case with this remark. By restating that this battle is for the purpose of gaining the throne, a ‘worldly’ ambition, he is implying that he and Krishna are above this kind of thing.

6
And we do not know whether it would it be better to conquer them, or they us. Having killed all these sons of Dhritarashthra standing here before us, we would not want to live.

Which is better? Defeating them (desires), or being defeated by them? Life would surely be intolerable without desire, for only through their fulfillment can there be any happiness. Or so Arjuna believes.

Self-reference: The enemy is the blind king, ‘ignorance’, and his sons represent ‘desires’. The ‘enemy’, the force that is hostile towards you, is ignorance and desires together.

7
With my own being overcome with depression, my mind is confused as to my duty, so I ask you, which would be better for certain? Tell me, your pupil. Correct me, your suppliant.

Now we see Arjuna doing a turn-about, and resorting to his guru for instruction. However…

8
I do not see what could possibly dispel this sorrow that dries up my senses, even if I were to obtain unrivaled and prosperous royal power, and the sovereignty of the gods.

Chapter one was entitled Arjuna’s Depression. Depression is a low energy state, and indeed Arjuna did end that chapter by sitting down on the seat of his chariot, throwing down both his bow and his arrows. Aside from all the biochemical and psychological implications, the bottom line is that Arjuna’s energy has hit bottom.

A low energy state means not only has one’s energy fallen, but there is less energy available, which is indicated in the verse as the drying up of the senses. Depression is a physical phenomena that affects the senses by making it difficult to take things in, think straight, and function normally. One way of countering depressed energy is to fulfill a desire—it feels good, and up you go (albeit temporarily). Hence Arjuna’s many mentions of his resistance to killing ‘desires’.

9
Thus having addressed the Master of the Senses [Krishna], Arjuna said, “I shall not fight,” and Having spoken to Krishna, he became silent.

And here we thought Arjuna was going to heed his guru’s instruction to “stand up and fight!”. We know what Lord Krishna has told Arjuna to do, but now we see that Arjuna will not to do it. Next week we will see what Krishna has to say about this capitulation.

Jaya Bhagavan! (Victory to God!)
Durga Ma

TERMS OF USE AND SHARING:

This post and text is original research material and is copyrighted. You are allowed to share this material for personal, non-commercial and educational use with the proper citations, references and links / tags back to my website. Clicking ´Share´ on FB or ´Reblog´ on WordPress would be most appropriate.Please obtain written permission from Anandi first if you want to use this material on your workshop, blog, organization, webpage, book, seminar or for any commercial purpose. All information provided, be it through sessions conducted or this post is non-liable and is not intended to replace professional legal, medical, psychological, psychiatric and/or financial counsel. How you choose to act on this information is up to your own free will and is entirely your responsibility.

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The Doorway to Truth – Bhagavad Gita – Chapter 1: 45-47

On By Durga MaIn Ancient Mystical Writings, Bhagavad Gita3 Comments
Arjunas Despair

First, open the door to your mind and walk away leaving the door open. Then read from your heart and listen from this source of inner wisdom. You can always go back to your mind and read it a again and try using logic and reason to understand, but it will always sell you short.

45
“Ah alas! We are resolved to do a great evil, being intent upon killing our own people out of desire for royalty and ease.

46
“I would feel easier if the armed Son’s of Dhritarashthra were to kill me in battle while I was unresisting and unarmed.”

47
Having thus spoken of the conflict, Arjuna sat down upon the seat of his chariot, throwing down both bow and arrow, with a heart overcome by sorrow.

In these few verses, we see Arjuna finally giving in to his despair and giving up. Convinced that the whole affair is unnecessary, destructive and wrong, he steps beyond simply emphasizing his position to Krishna, and says that he would rather die than continue—he would rather die at the hands of his enemy while unresisting and unarmed.

End of Chapter One
The Despondency of Arjuna

_______________

The author (Vyasa) of the Mahabharata from which the Bhagavad Gita is taken, put his vast knowledge of yoga into an epic framework to make it more engaging and available to more of the population than would otherwise have been possible as a scripture for many in those times. Consequently, those who wish to accelerate their evolutionary journey now have this information in a form that illuminates yoga, the way of eternal Truth, Sanatana Dharma.

The story of the Mahabharata war is a story about your own evolutionary journey. This journey, normally long and slow, is now picking up its pace because you have put God in the driver’s seat—you have surrendered yourself to That, even if only for an hour or two a day—and God has taken you up on it: “You want to move forward with this? Then let’s get with the program. If I’m the one driving we’ll make way better time.” So off you go, and next thing you know you are questioning everything—God, Guru, Yoga, surrender, even your own experience.

This is understandable considering what you’re used to as compared to what you are up against now that things are picking up. But it is good to know about this beforehand, to know that this event, this despair, is expected in the normal course of your sadhana. With this knowledge you will be relieved of it earlier due to having known about it—forewarned is forearmed. And you will be relieved of the burden of questioning your own worth, your deservedness, and can choose not to be guided by your mind. But are you a warrior? Or are you going to play it safe and try to maintain the status quo?

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A Marvelous Mystery

I would call your attention to something rather marvelous about this chapter: You will have noticed that Arjuna is the predominant speaker, not Krishna. But everything Arjuna says pertains directly to yoga sadhana and the awakening and ascension of the evolutionary force, and even though Arjuna may be unaware of it, everything he says is true.

The essence of the characters of Arjuna and Krishna is Nara and Narayana. Arjuna is Nara, the ‘eternal spirit that pervades the universe’, who is always associated with Narayana, ‘son of the primeval man’, Krishna. Together they are the union of law, visible form, and harmlessness (dharma, murti, and ahimsa). Arjuna is you, and Krishna is your soul, that divine one who is just like you, and for whom you live, who reflects back to you, your true Self. We see this in the relationship of Arjuna as the disciple and Krishna as the guru. So you will find that in trying to understand the Gita, you can identify with both Arjuna and Krishna, for they are both you.

If all you ever do with the Bhagavad Gita is to tackle chapter one, you will have everything you need to know … if you can understand it. Arjuna doesn’t even understand it, and he’s the one speaking. He thinks he is telling Krishna why the war should not go on, but in doing so, and in giving his reasons, we learn the truth about yoga and how it unfolds. It is one of those beautifully drawn mysteries found in scripture that tells you that you already know everything, even though you may not realize it or understand what you know. Revealing this is what scriptures are for, and why they are worthy of our complete and loving attention.

In the remaining seventeen chapters, Krishna presents this knowledge in several different ways until Arjuna finally understands.

Jaya Bhagavan! (Victory to God!)
Durga Ma

Happy Guru Purnima

LakulishaPict1

Dadaji, Sri Bhagavan Lakulisha

Kripalu9

Baupji, Swami Sri Kripalvanandaji

Jaya Gurudeva!

Beautiful Krishna Images courtesy of rajbgm.wordpress.com

TERMS OF USE AND SHARING:

This post and text is original research material and is copyrighted. You are allowed to share this material for personal, non-commercial and educational use with the proper citations, references and links / tags back to my website. Clicking ´Share´ on FB or ´Reblog´ on WordPress would be most appropriate.Please obtain written permission from Anandi first if you want to use this material on your workshop, blog, organization, webpage, book, seminar or for any commercial purpose. All information provided, be it through sessions conducted or this post is non-liable and is not intended to replace professional legal, medical, psychological, psychiatric and/or financial counsel. How you choose to act on this information is up to your own free will and is entirely your responsibility.